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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Swansong ✭✭✭✭✭

Review by Ellen Cree

After seeing DugOut Theatre Company’s ‘The Sunset
Five’ at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, ‘Swansong’ was a must see for me and they certainly lived up to my expectations.

Swansong tells the hilarious story of four
individuals, all of whom have totally different personalities and totally
different outlooks on life, that are all stranded on a swan pedalo after the
Earth has been completely flooded and the entirety of the human race has been
wiped out apart from themselves. The silliness of the plot and the characters
is what makes this performance so special. All of the actors are extremely
talented and there are definitely no weak links in this performance.

The story of the remaining four humans begins
shortly before we learn that the last of the protein bars they have been living
on have run out. Although the characters all fall into four massive personality
stereotypes, something that might be branded cliche by some, are a perfect fit
for this off-the-wall show. The fact that they are so cliche kind of adds to
the comedy aspect perfectly. Firstly we have Adam the presumable (former)
businessman who is the clever and logical one. Secondly we have Claire, the
over exuberant, competitive gym nut who is keen to make the best of a bad
situation. Next you have the yoga loving, vegan Buddhist Bobby who spends her
time meditating in order to retain her sanity, and finally is the posh
university student Stephen (think Jack Whitehall’s character JP in E4’s Fresh
Meat) who just really misses meat, his friends and his dog.

We see the characters argue before killing and
devouring a swan they come across as they continuously paddle and drift around
on their pedalo. They also use Bobby’s diary to take turns to note down the
things that they miss about their old life and the bad things about the world
pre-flood, in the hope that future generations may find it one day.

While the show is about the end of the world, it is
also about hope, which is important as it leaves you rooting for the characters
and their survival so that they can continue to live and restart the human
race. The performance is complete is fantastic one liners and fun quirky
musical moments that will leave you in fits of laughter and wanting to come
back and see it again!